Your piece leaves with you. So does our name.

Caring for your tattoo

Your tattoo is an open wound for the first few days. Treat it like one.

First 24 hours

• Leave the bandage on as long as Carlos told you. Standard wrap: 2–4 hours. Clear adhesive film (second skin): 3–5 days, unless it fills with fluid or starts to peel.
• When you remove it, wash your hands first. Then wash the tattoo gently with lukewarm water and a fragrance-free, unscented soap. Use your fingertips, not a cloth.
• Pat dry with a clean paper towel. Let it air dry for 10 minutes.
• Apply a very thin layer of fragrance-free moisturizer or the aftercare ointment Carlos recommended. Thin means you can barely see it. Too much traps bacteria and pulls ink.

Days 2 to 14

• Wash the tattoo 2 to 3 times a day the same way. Moisturize lightly after each wash and any time it feels tight or dry.
• Peeling and flaking around day 3 to 7 is normal. Itching is normal. Do not pick, scratch or peel it. Tap it with a clean hand if it itches.
• Wear loose, clean clothing over it. No tight waistbands, bra straps or gym gear rubbing the area.
• Showers are fine. No baths, pools, hot tubs, lakes or the ocean until it is fully healed, about 3 to 4 weeks.
• No direct sun and no tanning beds while healing. Once healed, use SPF 30 or higher on it for life. Sun is what fades tattoos.
• Skip heavy sweating and gym sessions on that area for the first 3 to 5 days.
• Sleep on clean sheets. If the tattoo sticks to the sheet, wet the sheet with warm water before pulling it off.

Healing timeline

• Surface heals in 2 to 3 weeks. Deeper layers take 4 to 6 weeks. Large color pieces can take longer.
• The tattoo may look cloudy or dull while a thin layer of skin regrows over it. That clears.

Call us or see a doctor if you notice

Caring for your piercing

Clean it, leave it alone, keep the jewelry in. That is most of it.

Cleaning

• Spray sterile saline wound wash on the piercing 1 to 2 times a day. The label should say 0.9% sodium chloride and nothing else. Do not make your own salt water.
• Let it soak 30 seconds, then pat dry with a clean paper towel. No cloth towels.
• Rinse it in the shower daily to clear away crust. Do not scrub or pick the crust.

Hands off

• Do not touch it except when cleaning, and wash your hands first.
• Do not rotate, spin or slide the jewelry. That tears the healing tissue and is the number one cause of problems.
• Keep hair, phones, glasses, hats and makeup off it.

Daily life

• Showers only. No baths, pools, hot tubs, lakes or the ocean until healed. If you must swim, cover it with a waterproof transparent film dressing.
• For ear and cartilage piercings, do not sleep on that side. Put your pillow in a clean t-shirt and turn it each night so you have four clean surfaces, or use a travel pillow with the ear in the hole.
• Change pillowcases often. Keep clothing loose around navel and surface piercings.
• Sweat is fine; rinse with saline after workouts.

Jewelry

• Keep the jewelry in at all times, even at night. Piercings can shrink or close in minutes, even years later.
• Your starter jewelry is longer to allow for swelling. Once swelling goes down (usually 2 to 6 weeks) come back and we will downsize it. Long jewelry that stays in gets snagged and grows crooked.
• Do not change the jewelry yourself during healing. Only implant-grade titanium, niobium, or solid 14k+ gold goes in a healing piercing. No cheap metal.

What is normal

• Some bleeding, swelling, tenderness and bruising the first few days.
• Whitish-yellow fluid that dries into a crust on the jewelry. That is not pus.
• Itching and slight discoloration while healing.
• Piercings heal from the outside in, so it may look healed before it is. Keep cleaning for the full time.

Typical healing times

Your piercing may take longer; keep the routine until we say it is done.

Piercing	Typical time
Earlobe	6–8 weeks
Ear cartilage (helix, tragus, conch, industrial)	6–12 months
Nostril	4–6 months
Septum	2–3 months
Eyebrow	6–8 weeks
Navel	6–12 months
Lip, Monroe, labret	6–8 weeks (surface), 2–3 months (full)
Tongue	4–8 weeks
Nipple	6–12 months

Oral piercings (tongue, lip, labret)

• Rinse with an alcohol-free, peroxide-free mouthwash or plain water after every meal, drink and cigarette, and before bed.
• Clean the outside of a lip piercing with saline like any other piercing.
• Swelling is worst in days 3 to 5. Let ice chips melt in your mouth, sleep with your head elevated, and take ibuprofen as directed on the package.
• For two weeks: no spicy, salty or acidic food, no alcohol, no smoking or vaping, and no kissing or oral contact.
• Use a soft toothbrush and replace it after the piercing.
• Come back for downsizing once the swelling is gone. Long tongue jewelry chips teeth.

Call us or see a doctor if you notice